Lafayette College is committed to heating and cooling the campus in ways that are environmentally friendly, whenever possible.
- The College’s electric utility has stated that its power generation fuel portfolio includes approximately 3 percent of total generated power from “renewable sources.” The electric utility has advised that by 2011, this percentage will likely rise to 9 percent.
- The College has installed Siemens automated environmental control systems in approximately 60 percent of its buildings, enabling Plant Operations to monitor and control lighting levels, temperatures, preventative maintenance parameters, and occupancy settings for select spaces.
- The College’s Plant Operations has also installed additional set-back technology for both lighting and HVAC controls in buildings where the Siemens system has not yet been installed.
- During the heating seasons, occupied room temperatures are maintained between 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit. During the cooling seasons, occupied room temperatures are maintained between 76-78 degrees Fahrenheit.
- During the heating season, night setback features of the BACS system are utilized to reduce temperatures to 60 degrees Fahrenheit during unoccupied periods. During the cooling season, the temperature is increased to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during unoccupied periods.
- The installation of Smart Meters at the College tracks how much energy we consume and when, and communicates this information over a network to the utility office.
- The College uses energy efficient/longer life air filters.
- Installation of Variable Frequency Drive (VFD), which are also known as AC drive, acts as reliable equipment for adjustments or to change the frequency of alternating currents applied to the electrical motor, thus aiding in its rotation speed regulation.